Before the alarm goes off

Last night was a restless night. I'm not really sure why. I've been up since before 2 am. I spent time studying for my upcoming test. Honestly I really thought that would put me to sleep. Alas it did not! I figured by about 4 am there was no point in trying to go back to sleep when the alarm would sound at 5:30. So I thought I'd try to sneak a blog entry in before I have to cook breakfast.

--------- much later in the evening---------

Yesterday was our one year anniversary. It's so crazy to think about how fast this year seemed to go. There were moments it felt like it drug on forever, but overall it was pretty quick. It was a pretty good evening spent together. We got to really just reflect about the good and funny things over the past year. I consider myself to be really blessed to have the wonderful husband that I do.

Being married is a lot more difficult than I had imagined it would be. My life changed in MANY ways this past year. New role, city, home, job, etc... All in all I would say this first year was full of many adventures, but I'm sure glad to spend them with my husband. I'm so glad that I waited on the Lord's best for me.

One of the biggest things I've learned this past year is that a wife's work is never done! I've heard that saying time and time again. Before I became a wife, I didn't understand what that really meant. I think that a husband's work is never done either. I'm pretty sure it's called "adulting". I think for both parties the job continues, the work load is always there, and the stress of trying to get it done remains. God's really been softening my heart to these facts. Maybe He has something great in store for the knowledge I'm acquiring.

In an earlier post I made reference to the dreaded laundry basket that I just can't seem to keep empty. I think that's one of the most symbolic chores of a wife's work never being done. I think the struggle is that our jobs are ongoing and never really ending. The dishes will always need to be washed, meals will need to be cooked, the floors will need to be cleaned and the list goes on and on. There is always work to be done to take care of and manage our home.

When I lived with my dad I didn't always get the importance of the house being picked up. I was immature. I get it now! Sorry dad for all those times you came home from a rough day and the house wasn't picked up or there was a mess in the kitchen because I had cooked. My husband has explained to me on several occasions how important it is for a man to come home to a clean house. As a wife I'm just rallying around the fact that we are in one piece, dinner made it to the table, and I did something productive for the day. If the sink has dishes... it's ok because I did x, y, and z. If the living room hasn't been picked up, it's ok right? I'm learning that the effort to keep the home clean and organized means a TON to my husband. He appreciates that I take the time to work on keeping the house clean. I don't enjoy doing chores..... some people LOVE cleaning, it's not my favorite thing. My heart doesn't do flip flops from cleaning the house. My husband is an acts of service man. That's one of his love languages. It means a great deal to him that I WANT to clean the house for him. That I enjoy doing that. Therefore I try to make the effort to do that for him with a glad heart. It's an opportunity for me to love him in a way he speaks love.

It's funny how perspectives change when the circumstances change. I didn't realize the value in this type of work until I got married. God's really been working on me in regards to my role as a Proverbs 31 woman. Ladies it is hard work! There is a great deal of expectations for us to meet. There are days of great triumph... and days of catastrophic failure (maybe I'm being a tad bit dramatic here, but hey it's my blog and I can be dramatic if I want to.) Lol!

 I'm really looking forward to what this next year will bring. Hopefully the "big" changes will settle down for a bit. Right now we are focusing on getting involved in our church home and building our community here. I'm working on making new friends, which is hard when you are out of your comfort zone. I know that being out of our comfort zones brings about much growth.

Anyway, I better get off of here and get a GREAT night's rest!! I've been looking forward to a new blog post since I changed the look of my blog. I really like the look and feel of this theme.